The StorY Behind Our Stories

There happens to be a magnetized grocery-list notepad (now memorialized in a photo) hanging on the refrigerator at Cathy’s house titled “All Out of.” It’s been stuck there for years, as no one in the family ever remembers to use it.

However, every now and then, one of them WILL have the presence of mind to write the word “Love” beneath the title (as in the “All Out of Love” song from 1980s pop group Air Supply). It’s become a family joke at this point.

Recently, Cathy was laughing at the latest iteration one of her adult kids had added to the notepad, and the thought popped into her head “all out of Ws.” It got her to thinking about a series of books of alphabet-related characters, with one of them losing his Ws in the first story.

She raised the idea with Liz, who promptly came up with the PERFECT name (and illustrations) for the characters, “The Alphabeans.” The rest, as they say, is history.

This true story serves as a good reminder that inspiration can originate from the unlikeliest of places and should never be discounted. Happy reading!